Chapter 235. Nice to Meet You. This Is the Train to Hell.
“Sir Marquis Keltar. It’s Audu.”
“Oho! Count Audu. To think that you have contacted me first. What is it?”
“It’s just that… I have contacted you because Demon has appeared near my home.”
“What? Is that true? Are you positive that it’s Demon, the slave from the festival?”
“Yes. That is the case.”
“Ahah! My my. It seems things are okay for now since you were able to contact me.”
“Fortunately Demon hasn’t noticed me yet, but time is short. Could you please lend me aid?”
“Ahem… I can take care of Demon for you, but there is one issue.”
“It’s the reward that Castellan Mithrael put out, right?”
“Ahem! Well, how could I bring that up on my own? Our friendship isn’t just a day old.”
“Of course, I am well aware. That’s why I am requesting you, sir marquis.”
“Then how shall we settle this?”
“The credit for defeating Demon will be yours.”
“Hohoho! Now, now. I’m not obliging your request just because of the reward. Please think of it as me appreciating our friendship and my respect towards you.”
“I understand. Then I shall send the summoning request at once.”
“Hoho. Please do so immediately! And you haven’t contacted any other marquises, right?”
“You need not ask. I have only contacted you, sir Marquis Keltar.”
“Kuhohoho! My friend. As expected! Then send me the summoning request immediately.”
“Yes.”
As expected, this nobleman did not suspect anything of Audu’s request for summons.
Anyone could tell from the contents of the Soul Messenger that the nobles were rather crafty.
They only acted for their own benefit, and were irrefutably lazy.
The nobles didn’t have much interest in anything else, not even blinking an eye towards disasters with human casualties.
Anyone could tell from how they only explored the first 10 ranks of the hunting grounds and went about partaking in entertainment instead.
While it was only a short conversation, the marquis flicked his dirty tongue while thinking about how he would satiate his ambitions.
The nobles of this nation were corrupt as they could be.
Ironically this was aiding Min-Cheol’s plan that Audu agreed to.
As Audu had said, Larkenta’s Castellan Mithrael had put a huge bounty on the king of the Festival of Blood, Demon.
The reward was big enough for not only the counts, but the marquises to drool over.
And if Audu, who the nobles have no reason to be suspicious of, offered a bit of enticing information, it was without a doubt that the nobles would accept the summon 100%.
While Min-Cheol wasn’t able to hear what Keltar was saying, he was pleased at what Audu was saying using Soul Messenger.
Opening up the Mobile Storage, all Min-Cheol now had to do was wait for Marquis Keltar to respond.
It was because the moment that the marquis arrived accepting the summon request, Dan and Audu had to enter the safety of the storage and wait it out.
While they were waiting for Keltar to arrive, Min-Cheol asked Audu a question.
It was about how strong Castellan Mithrael was.
“Count Audu.”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
“How strong is the castellan?”
“Hm… No idea. I don’t think there is anyone in Larkenta that knows for sure.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s because no one tried to fight against the castellan. And he also hasn’t once moved to strike down monsters before either. Because of that, it can’t be helped that no one has witnessed his power.”
“Didn’t I tell you already before, master? I told you that Mithrael is hidden under a veil of secrecy.”
“Yeah, I did ask you the same question before. But you can’t be sure. Count Audu is closer to the castellan than you are.”
“No matter how close you are to the castellan, it’s pointless. Do you think it’s easy to have such a massive network of information as I do in Larkenta?”
Dan rolled his eyes as if saddened and even mumbled at the end, accompanied by grumbling.
Dan probably thought that Min-Cheol had asked Audu as well because Min-Cheol couldn’t trust him.
Well, after defeating Swesi, it was only with the help of allies that he was able to come this far in Larkenta.
It was the same case back on Earth and the demonic realm.
Many people, monsters, and a god helped Min-Cheol, and he was able to stand here because he had obtained their aid.
Min-Cheol knew their hard work better than anyone.
He sort of squeezed out a thank you to Dan, who was downtrodden as he headed into the storage.
“Well, who else would I listen to other than the words of my right hand man? Head on in.”
“Well, if you say it that way… Yes! Right hand man, Dan! Heading in!”
Brightening up from a single exchange, Dan headed into the storage with light steps.
Audu planned to wait next to Min-Cheol until the summon was finished.
If he entered the storage, then the target summon Keltar would not be able to come here.
Similar to how Millions wasn’t able to travel through, summoning was not possible when the target wasn’t in the same dimension, inside the storage, or lost their life.
The biggest problem for Min-Cheol right now was that he wasn’t able to tell just how strong the castellan was.
Considering that, Min-Cheol had two choices.
The first choice was to defeat all the nobles before putting the castellan to the sword.
However, this method meant that Min-Cheol would have to take on a great amount of risk.
Since he couldn’t tell how strong his opponent was, fighting against the castellan meant that he would not be able to guarantee victory.
One could think that there was no way the castellan would be stronger than all the nobles combined.
Realistically speaking, it was probably not possible.
There’s a saying that a popular party has nothing to eat. There was a high chance that the rumors were exaggerated and he did not have such a massive amount of power.
However, on the off chance that the castellan’s power was far greater than what could’ve been imagined, then it would be a huge upset.
This method was risky, and as expected, Min-Cheol didn’t approve.
The second option was to kill all the nobles other than the castellan, then return to the celestial plane.
As long as Min-Cheol didn’t get caught by the castellan due to bad luck, this plan was relatively safe.
Min-Cheol wouldn’t have to make a risky bet, and it was far safer than the first option.
Returning back to the celestial plane and winning against Barub meant that Min-Cheol would rise to godhood.
Not a half human half god, also known as a demigod, but a real full fledged god instead.
If he became an absolute being, then it wouldn’t be difficult for Min-Cheol to do as he pleased with such a tiny dimension created by Karupedan.
He could defeat Castellan Mithrael any time after that.
The problem with this plan meant that Min-Cheol had to hide for the 19 remaining days, and he had no idea what the castellan would do during that time.
However, ignoring that one bit, it wouldn’t be too difficult.
Knowing Min-Cheol’s personality though, it was unlikely that he would just leave Mithrael to rampage.
Thinking about this and that, not 5 minutes had passed before Audu opened his mouth.
“Marquis Keltar has accepted the summons.”
“Please hurry in then. I shall take care of the situation after.”
“Then…”
The sound of the Mobile Storage closing and Keltar’s arrival overlapped each other.
Immediately after Audu had completely hidden himself had the marquis appeared before Min-Cheol.
Keltar was fully equipped.
Despite his intention to defeat Demon, who was far weaker than him, he had prepared decently since it was going to be a battle after all.
There was no longer a need to summon Dan to confirm any faces like before.
After all, there was no way anyone else could accept a summon other than the one who was requested to appear.
What if Audu had betrayed Min-Cheol and requested aid from the castellan?
There was no need to worry about such a thing.
The castellan was stronger than anyone else. It was uncertain if even Min-Cheol could handle him.
The difference in strength would lead to Min-Cheol’s defeat.
However, right now Audu was inside Min-Cheol’s Mobile Storage.
As explained beforehand, the storage would be removed from existence if the caster died.
Other than the original owner, there was no one who could pull any items from the storage or even open it in the first place.
Seeing that Audu went inside the storage with his own two legs despite knowing this information, it was evident that the target to summon couldn’t have been the castellan.
Looking around the lobby for a brief moment, Keltar misinterpreted Min-Cheol as Audu’s servant and asked.
“Audu… To think that he would call me and then leave… I am here on Audu’s request. Where is your owner? Well, that isn’t important. Demon… Where is Demon?”
“So sorry to say. Demon isn’t here. On top of that, Count Audu isn’t here either.”
“How dare a servant address a marquis without honorifics. Do you not value your life?”
“Keltar. That’s you, right?”
“You really have a lot of gall. I will consider receiving payment from Audu to have your life be spared. Though I highly doubt you’d be worth more than a single core.”
“My life is quite pricey. I think you’ve miscalculated the cost?”
“Pay for your mistake with your life!”
Keltar took the whip hung on his shoulder and swung it down on the ground.
The floor where the whip struck was sunk in, almost as if a bomb had gone off.
The whipping was on a completely different level than what one would see in a movie or in a drama show.
It wouldn’t stop just at tearing the skin or tearing off a limb.
If a regular person rather than a Protector took that strike, they would probably perish into a red mist.
However, there was no reason for Min-Cheol to be afraid.
He had already taken the lives of many counts to accumulate power, and had recently obtained Marquis Leon’s power just a bit ago.
Not only that, but Min-Cheol had clones that increased his combat strength like no other method could.
Seeing Keltar swinging his whip to threaten Min-Cheol almost looked adorable at this point.
“I shall ask you again. Where is Audu? It seems that even your body has been frozen due to the fear. Are you finally regretting your mistake? But it’s too late. Even if you answer me now, I do not have the slightest intentions to let you live.”
“I don’t know the number of passengers on the train ride to Hell. For now, put on your seatbelt. It probably won’t save your life though.”
“Seems you’ve lost your mind. To think that such a humiliating day would come…”
“These are the stewards who will help you on your journey to Hell.”
“You. Do not like how you look. Kill.”
“Idiot. Don’t move without being ordered to. How is someone like you my clone?”
“Personality similar to that. No fault of mine.”
“Whew… Guess it can’t be helped.”
“Am I who you’re referring to? And why do you, the second oldest, look at me with such disappointment? Can’t relax with the clones around. Enough! Let’s focus on work first. The target is in front of you. I don’t think I need to elaborate?”
“Destroy.”
“Kill”
“Quite the bullsh*ting. Argh!”
And so the fight with a predetermined winner started.
Unaware, Keltar charged at Min-Cheol and his clones like a moth to a flame.
However, the fact that someone uninvited to the fight was present was something no one at the estate noticed.
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